VISA INC. $116 (New York symbol V; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 813.3 million; Market cap: $94.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 9.8; Dividend yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.visa.com) operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network. The company processes credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands.

Visa’s credit cards are accepted around the world. Visa/PLUS is one of the largest global automated teller machine networks, offering cash access in more than 200 countries.

The company first sold shares to the public at $44; it began trading on New York in March 2008.

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Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on specific stocks and other investing topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. This week, one Inner Circle member asked about one of the largest telecommunications firms on the world stock market. Pat looks at the prospects and potential pitfalls ahead for a company that seeks to expand its presence in international markets. ...

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $24.14 New York symbol BR: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 124.1 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications; securities processing; and transaction clearing. Broadridge’s systems help its customers cut costs.

Broadridge’s earnings jumped 45.3% in the three months ended December 31, 2011, to $15.4 million from $10.6 million a year earlier. Before one-time items, earnings per share rose 50.0%, to $0.12 from $0.08, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 8.5%, to $479.8 million from $442.3 million.

Timely acquisitions starting to pay off

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INTACT FINANCIAL CORP. $60.00 (Toronto symbol IFC; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-341-1464; www.intactfc.com; Shares outstanding: 129.6 million; Market cap: $7.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance, based on premiums. Its brands include Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink, belairdirect and Grey Power.

In the three months ended December 31, 2011, Intact’s revenue rose 48.7%, to $1.58 billion from $1.06 billion. That was mainly due to AXA Canada, which Intact bought from Paris-based ASX Group for $2.6 billion last year.

AXA Canada is the country’s sixth-largest home, auto and commercial insurer. It also gives Intact a presence in Quebec, B.C. and Atlantic Canada.

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NEW GOLD $11.17 (Toronto symbol NGD; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (888-315-9715; www.newgold.com; Shares outstanding: 461.4 million; Market cap: $5.2 billion; No dividends paid) produced a record 387,155 ounces of gold in 2011, up 1.1% from 369,077 ounces in 2010.

The company’s production could rise as high as 445,000 ounces in 2012. That growth will come mostly from its New Afton mine, which should start up in the middle of this year.

Even if the New Gold doesn’t expand its mines or make acquisitions, its production could top one million ounces within six years. Most of that rise will come from the successful development of the Blackwater project, which could hold up to 6.8 million ounces of gold.

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SYMANTEC CORP. $17.94 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 737.2 million; Market cap: $13.2 billion; No dividends paid) reports that its earnings per share gained 20.0% in the three months ended December 30, 2011, to $0.42 from $0.35. Sales rose 6.9%, to $1.72 billion from $1.6 billion.

Demand for security software will likely remain steady due to rising concerns about identity theft and online intruders. However, a shortage of hard drives due to flooding in Thailand is dampening computer sales. That would hurt Symantec, because the company gets 85% of its sales to consumers from software that is preinstalled on new computers. Consumers account for about 30% of Symantec’s overall sales.

As well, economic uncertainty will probably weigh on sales in Europe, which supplies around 25% of Symantec’s overall sales.

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WESTJET AIRLINES $13.95 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 130.8 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.7%) reports that its revenue rose 12.9% in the three months ended December 31, 2011, to $781.5 million from $692.2 million a year earlier.

Demand for the company’s flights remains high, and it has entered into new partnerships with other airlines; these were the main reasons for the higher revenue.

Earnings fell 4.3%, to $35.6 million from $37.2 million. Higher fuel prices were the main reason for the decline. However, earnings per share were unchanged at $0.26, due to fewer shares outstanding. The company has also raised its quarterly dividend by 20%, to $0.06 from $0.05. The shares now yield 1.7%.

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CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $23.02 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-848-8000; www.chkenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 659.3 million; Market cap: $15.2 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) plans to cut its daily natural gas production by 8% due to low gas prices. That will take about 500 million cubic feet per day off the market. Chesapeake is the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S.

Chesapeake will now shift the focus of its drilling to oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs), which are broken down into ethane, propane and butane and sold to a variety of customers. For example, ethane is used to make a host of everyday products, like grocery and garbage bags, toys, medical tubing and so on. NGLs are typically priced in relation to crude oil.

Chesapeake Energy is still a buy.

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DEVON ENERGY CORP. $71.70 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-235-3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 403.9 million; Market cap: $29.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%) is one of the largest U.S.-based oil and natural-gas explorers and producers. Its production mix is 65% gas and 35% oil.

In May 2011, Devon completed the sale of its Brazilian operations for $3.2 billion. It has now sold all of its international and Gulf of Mexico properties, which it saw as risky and expensive to develop.

In all, the company received over $8 billion in after-tax proceeds from these sales. It’s using these funds to buy back shares, purchase properties and pay down debt. So far, it has bought back $3.5 billion of its shares. Its long-term debt is $6.0 billion, but that’s just 20.7% of its $29.0-billion market cap. The company holds cash of $7.1 billion, or $17.27 a share. As well, Devon recently sold a one-third interest in five shale oil and gas fields to giant Chinese state-owned petroleum and chemical company Sinopec (symbol SNP on New York) for $900 million. In addition, Sinopec will pay up to 70% of Devon’s share of the development costs at the five fields, up to $1.6 billion

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CIMAREX ENERGY $81.59 (New York symbol XEC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 85.7 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) produces and explores for oil and natural gas. Gas makes up 56% of its output.

Cimarex’s properties are in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S., which includes Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas; the Permian Basin of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico; and the Texas Gulf Coast.

In the three months ended December 31, 2011, Cimarex’s production averaged 601.4 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (including oil). That’s down slightly from 604.5 million cubic feet a year earlier. The company did not offset natural declines at its Gulf Coast wells with new production.

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